Cachipay is a municipality and town of

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in the Tequendama Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. Cachipay borders Quipile in the west,

Zipacón Zipacón () is a municipality and town of Colombia in the Western Savanna Province, part of the department of Cundinamarca. The urban centre of Zipacón is situated at an altitude of on the Bogotá savanna, the southern flatlands of the Altiplan ...

in the east,

Anolaima Anolaima () is a municipality and township of Colombia in the department of Cundinamarca. It is located in the providence of Tequendama at West from Bogotá in between the cities of Facatativá and La Mesa. Anolaima is known as the Fruit Capita ...

in the north and La Mesa in the south. The urban centre is located east of Bogotá.Official website Cachipay
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Etymology

The name Cachipay is probably derived from the

Chibcha The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian cultures of Colombia, Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonizati ...

name for a fruit similar to the typical Colombian fruit corozo.

History

The history of the present municipality of Cachipay dates back at least to the

Herrera Period The Herrera Period is a phase in the history of Colombia. It is part of the Andean preceramic and ceramic, time equivalent of the North American pre-Columbian era, pre-Columbian Formative stage, formative and classic stages and age dated by var ...

, from which

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

s have been found in the current ''vereda'' Tocarema, dated at 2750 years BP (750 BCE). The region before the

Spanish conquest of the Muisca The Spanish conquest of the Muisca took place from 1537 to 1540. The Muisca people, Muisca were the inhabitants of the central Andes, Andean highlands of Colombia before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. They were organised in a loose M ...

was inhabited by the

Panche people The Panche or Tolima are an indigenous peoples of Colombia, indigenous group of people that lived in what is now Colombia. They inhabited the southwestern parts of the Departments of Colombia, department of Cundinamarca Department, Cundinamarca a ...

, who were in constant conflict with the

Muisca The Muisca (also called the Chibcha) are indigenous peoples in Colombia and were a Pre-Columbian culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The Muisca spe ...

inhabiting the

Altiplano Cundiboyacense The Altiplano Cundiboyacense () is a high plateau located in the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes covering parts of the departments of Cundinamarca and Boyacá. (Do not confuse with The Altiplano or the Altiplano Nariñense, both fur ...

to the east. Tocarema was the site of the

Battle of Tocarema The Battle of Tocarema (Spanish: ''Batalla de Tocarema'') was fought between an alliance of the troops of Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and ''zipa'' of the Muisca Sagipa of the southern Muisca Confederation and the indigenous ...

on August 20, 1538, where an alliance of Muisca guecha warriors and troops of the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...

confronted and submitted the Panche, due to their superior weaponry,

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and the dogs trained for war. Modern Cachipay was not founded until November 26, 1982.

Gallery

File:Parque principal cachipay cundinamarca.jpg, Central square of Cachipay File:Tren de Cachipay.jpg, Former train in Cachipay File:Casa antigua cachipay cundinamarca.jpg, Colonial house File:Casa gobierno cachipay cundinamarca.jpg, Council house File:Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen Cachipay.jpg, Church of Cachipay

References

{{Municipalities cundinamarca department Municipalities of Cundinamarca Department Populated places established in 1982